


Jack

by Killyouwithmybrain



Series: Don't Look Back [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-21 15:25:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3697343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killyouwithmybrain/pseuds/Killyouwithmybrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Okay, this is going to sound ridiculous...but, I just broke up with my psycho girlfriend. Told her I was gay. Do me a solid and hold my hand for a minute?”</p><p>AU; The Avengers are already living in the Tower. Skye is not part of Shield. Steve struggles with persistent men and an overly helpful Black Widow. He doesn't need her to find him dates; he can find his own, damn it. But what happens when the woman that catches his eye isn't what she seems?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ambush in the Park

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything, except for Jack.

“Okay, this is going to sound ridiculous,” A young man smiled, pulling even with a gorgeous, blonde young man as he walked down the concrete path in the local park. “But, I just broke up with my psycho girlfriend. Told her I was gay. Do me a solid and hold my hand for a minute?” Jack asked, extending his hand hopefully. The stranger beside him frowned slightly but took the proffered hand.

“I'm Steve,” The stranger offered, blushing slightly. Jack adjusted his grip on the man's hand so they could continue walking down the pathway side by side. Jack grinned and glanced over his shoulder. 

“Jack. I can't believe you're doing this for me.”

“Yeah, well. Pass it on, right?” Steve muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. His discomfort had be tangible. In all his 95 years, he had never held hands with another man. He knew things were different now, but seriously?

“Jack,” A female voice called loudly, “Either ask him if he's interested or let the poor man go.”

Jack didn't look back, just grinned broadly. Steve looked around, trying to place the voice. If he had to guess, he would say it was either the middle aged woman sitting by the fountain or the woman under the tree. She had made herself comfortable against the tree, using a blanket to sit on. She had a computer propped open against her knees so Steve couldn't see much of her except the top of her head. There weren't any other women around, and the voice was definitely female; it had to be one of those two.

“I'm guessing that was the psycho?” Steve asked, nodding his head in the general direction of the tree and fountain. The lady by the fountain seemed too old for Jack, whom Steve would guess was no older than 25, but who was he to judge lifestyle choices? After all, he was currently pretending to be gay with a complete stranger. The thought brought the flush back to his cheeks.

“You're adorable when you blush,” Jack remarked, running a finger down Steve's defined cheekbone. Steve was suddenly aware of the flair that decorated Jack's fingers, the carefully sculpted hair, and the curious way he swung his hips while they walked. Steve cleared his throat uncomfortably, barely resisting the urge to step away from the man. “Want to grab coffee sometime?”

“Are you asking me out?” Steve asked, surprised.

“Yes.” Jack replied with an easy grin. 

“As part of this?” Steve asked, glancing down at their conjoined hands. Jack laughed loudly, throwing his head back. 

“Absolutely not.”

Steve stopped walking, shell shocked. For an awful moment, he didn't know what to do. Jack seemed nice. He was certainly friendly... but Steve was not gay. Definitely not. How did you politely turn down a date? He had never been in this situation before. Did the same rules apply to turning down a man as they did to women? He didn't want to offend the man. Jack was watching Steve intently, waiting for a reply. Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and remembered, just in time, to say his prayer of thanks silently. He pulled out his phone and frowned at the message on the screen.

“Jack, I need to go,” Steve said quickly, jumping at the opportunity in front of him. “It was nice meeting you.”

Steve pulled his hand free from Jack's and hurried down the path, returning the text with a phone call only after he was around the bend and was out of eyesight. Jack watched him go, pouting. He turned with a huff and a frown, then started back down the way he had come. He swung his narrow hips as he walked, halfheartedly hoping to draw someone's attention. 

“I hate you,” Jack muttered, plopping down on the blanket. He crossed his arms and waited for her to acknowledge him. She glanced up from her screen briefly, grinning. Her fingers kept flying across the keys, even as her attention deviated from the screen.

“You know who that was, right?” She laughed, returning her attention to the screen.

“Of course. Why do you think I approached him out of all the guys here for me to pick from?” Jack asked, waving his hand around as he spoke.

“Because you like losing to me? I'll collect on that coffee in about...yep, now. Right now.” She grinned, slamming her laptop closed.

“Ugh, Skye! I just got rejected by the man of my dreams! I think you owe me some coffee.” Jack whined, throwing himself back onto the blanket. He waited until Skye was watching, then threw his arm across his face. Skye waited with a good-natured grin on her face. After a beat, he lifted his arm just enough to peek at her.

“You, sir, are so dramatic,” Skye laughed. “Head drama queen over here!” Skye shouted to the park, before twisting to grab her bag. 

“You're just jealous that I'm the queen,” Jack grinned, helping her open the bag so she could shove her laptop inside. 

“Like that title was ever up for grabs,” Skye muttered, shaking her head.

“It's not my fault I found myself early.” Jack frowned, pushing his dark hair back.

“I never said it was.” Skye said hastily. She reached up and straightened his hair, smiling tenderly at him. Then, before the moment could get too sappy, which was neither of their styles, she shoved him. “You owe me coffee. You get to carry the blanket this time.”

“Are you going to give me back my scarf?” Jack asked, raising one carefully waxed eyebrow. 

“When you get your lazy bum off the ground!” Skye retorted, baiting him with a metallic silver scarf.

“Fine, fine.” Jack laughed, scooping the blanket off the ground before turning to reclaim his scarf. He shoved the blanket between his knees so he could tie the scarf around his neck. It wasn't nearly cold enough for a scarf, but he never went anywhere without it. He went to grab the blanket from between his legs, ignoring Skye's quiet laughter. When she didn't stop laughing, he turned to scowl at her. “What is so funny?”

“You're covered,” Skye giggled, whacking him harder than was strictly necessary. Jack twisted in place, seeing that he was indeed covered in grass. 

“Ow, ow! You're going to bruise my delicate skin!” Jack protested as she continued brushing the grass off his backside, giving it a solid smack when she was satisfied he was clean enough.


	2. Just a Little Snark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve contemplates his predicament with Jack, we get a little insight into his and Romanov's relationship, and the pair run into someone unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, just Jack.

Steve peered around the tree cautiously, having finished calling back Romanov. He had added “turning down dates with gay men” to his notebook, reminding himself to ask someone how to go about it politely. The text had saved him from answering, but now he was needed for a briefing. And he had to go back through the park to get back to head quarters. He hoped the man...Jack?, had left. He still didn't know how to go about declining, so he didn't want to run into him again.

“So, it was the girl from the tree,” Steve muttered to himself, watching Jack walk away with a girl with long, dark hair. He still hadn't caught a look at her. She was laughing though, cleaning grass from Jack's back. Judging by the yelping he could hear, she was being rougher than was strictly necessary. Steve grinned and eased out from behind the tree, hurrying through the park.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

“Took you long enough,” Romanov commented, her feet propped up casually on the Director's desk.

“Romanov,” Steve replied, curtly. He frowned, briefly considering if he could ask her about declining dates. She smirked at his tone, which cemented in his mind that she was the wrong person to ask. She would find it amusing, and probably give him bad advice just to see him fail. Nope, he would have to ask someone else. He would have to do it outside the tower, Tony had that thing under constant surveillance. He definitely did not want Tony finding out about this.

“Romanov, feet off my desk,” Director Fury growled, closing his office door behind him. Romanov lazily complied, her expression indicating she only listened because she wanted to. Steve hid a smile at her insolence. “Romanov, Rogers...I have a mission for you two.”

“So we gathered,” Romanov replied dryly.

“What do you need us to do, sir?” Steve asked, reaching forward for the mission file Director Fury handed him. He skimmed it quickly, feeling his eyebrows raising the further in he got. “Sir? I don't think we have...”

“No one is good enough.” Romanov said flatly, her nostrils flaring in anger. “I'm not storming this place with only Captain 40's when no one we have is good enough to get us past their security.”

“You're not storming it,” Fury responded. “It's a stealth mission, thus just the two of you.”

“It won't be a stealth mission if the security starts blaring the second we start to hack it.” Steve interrupted, before Fury had a chance to continue. Fury leveled his one good eye at Steve. Recognizing the reprimand, Steve's military side came out. He dropped back from the desk, coming to stand at parade rest position. He locked his hand on his other wrist to keep his anger from showing. Natasha snorted at his position but didn't comment. She could see the anger on his features. He wasn't the good little soldier everyone thought he was; but he knew how to look like it.

“I've asked Stark to look at it. I've given him three days to give me his opinion. If he can't hack it, no one can. Prep the mission with the assumption that he can.” Fury ordered, then waved them out of his office.

“Does that mean we get Iron Man?” Romanov asked at the doorway.

“Damn it! What part of stealth mission do you not understand?” Fury shouted. Romanov grinned and closed the door behind her.

“So, no Iron Man?” Steve quipped dryly. His sometimes partner smirked and shook her head. “Think Tony can crack it?”

“We can go ask him,” She shrugged. She was pretty good with computers, but that system seemed unhackable. It was definitely beyond her abilities. “If we can stop for coffee on the way back to the Tower.”

“Deal,” Steve agreed, folding the file in half and shoving it in an inner pocket of his favorite leather jacket.

“How come I don't get to hold onto that?” Romanov smirked, nodding to his jacket.

“Because your jacket doesn't have room.” Steve responded promptly.

“Are you calling me fat?” She frowned, shooting him a glare. Steve rolled his eyes at her, easily seeing through her intimidation factor.

“Yes. Definitely. I'm going to start calling you Tubby Tasha...” Steve grinned and easily sidestepped the fist coming for his head.

“Bastard.”

“Sorry, Tubby.”

“You call me that again and you're going to regret it,” Romanov warned, her threat real this time. Steve laughed and held his hands up in defeat.

“If I buy you coffee, will you not murder me in my sleep?” Steve offered, grinning.

“Sure,” She replied easily. They both smirked at their silly exchange. Neither one had very many people who were comfortable with snarking with them. They were too intimidated by The Black Widow and were too worried about offending the legendary Captain America. Their mutual respect of the other's abilities and disregard for boundaries (though that fit Tasha better than Steve) cemented their friendship. “Is your bike here? I'm wiped from my last mission.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, glancing over at his partner. She hid her fatigue well. “When did you get back?”

“When I texted you.”

“Then we're not getting coffee. I'll get you back to the Tower, so you can head to bed.”

“No, I'm not ready to sleep yet.” She replied softly, but firmly. Steve understood her tone. Sometimes a mission took something from you. More often than not, it came back to haunt your dreams.

“Clint will be back tonight,” Steve offered gently. “I can keep you awake until then.”

“You offering?” She asked, wagging her eyebrows at him. He snorted, and though he held the door open for her, he helped her through by playfully shoving her.

“No, definitely not. Like you would take me up on it, even if I did.”

“I don't know Rogers, you're going to be a mighty fine catch for someone someday.” Tasha zipped up her jacket against the autumn chill, easily following Steve's lead.

“Tasha...”

“Steve...”

“Stop it. I don't need a match maker.”

“What you need is to take me up on some of my suggestions.”

“I took you up on three, per our agreement. After _those_ three, I think I can safely say your taste is terrible. Terrible. I reserve the right to tell you - hell no.”

“Just one...”

“Hell. No.”

“You're no fun.” Tasha pouted, slipping the helmet Steve always had over her red locks. He never wore one; he didn't need to.

“I have enough fun in my life,” Steve retorted, revving his motorcycle. He felt Tasha reply because her chest was pressed to his back, but even with his super hearing he couldn't hear her muttered words over his motorcycle. He let it drop, because riding a motorcycle wasn't conducive to a conversation. Besides, he had nothing more to say about the subject. Sure, he could get lonely...but he would rather be alone than spend any more time than absolutely necessary with the women Tasha thought suited him.

He was pretty sure he should be insulted, based on her choices for him. Having lost a bet, he had reluctantly agreed to go on three blind dates arranged by Natasha. The first had been a blonde bimbo, as impolite as it may be to call her that. Steve reckoned she had about ten percent of her head space dedicated to useful brain functions, like breathing, but the other ninety percent was filled with fashion and celebrity gossip. She had rambled the entire date, but Steve would be hard pressed to repeat anything that had been discussed. He didn't know the people she referred to, couldn't care less about what was _in_ in the fashion scene, and he certainly wasn't interested in which celebrity was dating whom and why that was such a big deal. Tasha had later admitted that she seemed like someone who would _put out_ for him (yes, he had to ask Clint what that meant).

Dates two and three had failed just as spectacularly. One was such a _fan girl_ (He swore he would never master all the new lingo) that all she wanted to talk about was Captain America and the other residents of Stark Tower. She didn't seem to process that there was a man beneath Captain America. The other was so intimidated by him that she barely said a word the whole time, despite his best efforts to loosen her up. When she finally did say something, it was a mumble about how terrible life must have been growing up in the twenties and thirties. She realized what she said and had immediately clamped up again. Steve shook those memories loose and parked his bike half a block down from the best coffee spot in town. Tasha dismounted first, removing her helmet and shaking her hair free.

“Thanks for the ride, soldier.” Tasha winked. Steve rolled his eyes.

“I don't know how you always manage to make that sound so dirty.”

“You know you like it,” She smirked, heading towards the coffee shop.

As they got closer, Steve scoped out the people in the outdoor seating area. He hesitated, recognizing a familiar face.

 


	3. Encounter in a Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tasha finds out Steve's little secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, just Jack.

He almost froze as he recognized the man from the park. Jack, that was his name. Jack and whatever the “psycho ex's” name was. He was laughing freely, idly playing with the end of a very flashy scarf. The woman, who's back was to him was doing something on her computer. Kids these days; they were so attached to technology. He heard her amused chuckle, but was obviously concentrating on whatever she was doing on her computer. Probably a game. Tetris, or whatever kids played these days. They certainly looked comfortable together, making Steve doubt the whole psycho story. Though, he had difficulty dismissing the entire story – Jack's body language screamed _gay_. People may have been more subtle about it when he was growing up, but Jack's cues were anything but subtle.

“You okay?” Tasha asked, eying Steve strangely. Of course she had caught the slight stutter in his step as he recognized Jack.

“Yep.”

“Steve.” Tasha's tone let him know she wasn't going to drop it.

“I'll tell you later.”

“You will.” Tasha said firmly. “We okay to get coffee here?”

“Yeah. But if I hide behind you, just go with it, okay?”

“Now I'm curious.” Tasha laughed. Steve couldn't help but listen in to the conversation they were having as they approached.

“What's the suit doing this time?” Jack asked.

“Twerking.” The woman replied, settling back in her chair. What the hell was twerking?

“That's awesome,” Jack laughed, so focused on the woman opposite him that he didn't even notice Steve approaching. Though, Jack made no indication that he recognized him as Captain America so it was possible that he was just another face in the crowd. That would be a nice change of pace. “How long are you going to leave it up?”

“I think I'm about done teasing. A few more adjustments and I can just leave it up. For now, until we're done with our coffee?”

Her laughter joined his. Steve couldn't help his own small smile at the happy sound, though he worried slightly about whatever it was they were doing. Really, what was twerking? Tasha and Steve entered the coffee shop and ordered their usual, successfully avoiding Jack's attention. Since motorcycles and hot coffee didn't typically go well together, Steve and Tasha headed for a table near the back.

They were halfway through their coffee when there was a ruckus outside. Steve and Tasha were quickly on their feet, just in time to see the woman with Jack knock a man to the ground with a well placed punch.

“Who's the pansy now?” She asked angrily. Tasha snorted beside Steve. Jack hurried to slam her laptop shut and shove it into a messenger bag, but Steve caught a glimpse of what looked like Iron Man. Great, another _fan girl_. Okay, fine. Steve was maybe a little proud he mastered that one. Jack exited quickly, guiding the woman with his arm around her shoulders. Her dark hair covered her face as she inspected her knuckles.

“You need to stop punching everyone who says something like that,” Jack was muttering, exasperated. Despite his obvious frustration with her actions, Steve could see he was shaken. Probably by whatever the man on the ground had said.

“Well then they need to stop saying shit like that,” She muttered back. Jack's sigh indicated this was an old argument. “Or they need to learn to take a punch.”

Tasha was out right laughing now, though she was doing it quietly. Steve was frustrated to realize he still hadn't seen her face; her hair had blocked it the whole time. Steve glanced down at Tasha after the pair had left the coffee shop. Tasha sat back down to finish her coffee, wiping the corner of her eye.

“God, I needed that.”

Steve could tell she really had needed the laugh, so he couldn't help offering up a bit of his pride to give her another one. He would hear about it forever, but her laugh was worth it.

“He asked me out.” Steve offered softly, taking a small sip of his coffee.

“Who?” Tasha asked, sitting forward in her chair. Steve rolled his eyes.

“That man. His name is Jack. Ran into him earlier.”

Tasha's laughter was immediate and _loud_. Steve glared at her, making her compose herself a bit.

“That's why you were weird outside.” Tasha grinned, putting the pieces together. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. You texted and I kind of...” Steve wiggled his fingers like legs.

It took her several long minutes to get all the laughs out of her system. Steve was right; his pride stung, but he wasn't sure he had ever heard her laugh like this; at least, not without a lot of vodka. Totally worth it.

“I put it in my book,” Steve offered when she came down a little. He pulled it out to show her his newest addition to his list. She read it and burst out laughing again. Steve sighed, this was why he wasn't going to ask her in the first place.

“Want some advice?” She asked, gasping. Her coffee was long forgotten and cold.

“Not from you, thanks.” Steve said dryly. She just grinned her understanding. She wouldn't be helpful. “You tell Tony about this and I'll tell him about Tubby – ow!”

“I told you not to call me that,” Tasha reminded Steve. He grinned and nodded.

“Our secret?”

“Our secret.” Tasha confirmed. “Tower?”

“Tower.”

 


	4. Twerking Iron Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets hacked and Steve meets a girl while on his morning run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, except Jack.

After a short motorcycle ride, the duo pulled up to Stark Tower and were admitted to the garage section. Steve parked his bike and secured the helmet Tasha had been wearing. They got into the elevator in companionable silence.

“Good Afternoon Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanov,” Jarvis greeted.

“Hey Jarvis,” Tasha replied. “Common floor please.”

The elevator whisked them up to the top of the Tower, where they resided. They walked out of the elevator into Tony's lab. Steve and Tasha exchanged a look, because Jarvis had never taken them to the wrong place before. Tony was furiously pounding away at his system.

“What happened?” Tasha asked. Tony whipped around at her voice.

“Oh good, it's you. Come help me.” Tony said, grabbing Tasha's wrist and pulling her over to the system.

“What do you need help with?”

“I've been hacked. Again.”

“Again?” Tasha asked, pulling up a chair and a keyboard. “What have they found?”

“Nothing. The fucker isn't looking for anything. He's just flaunting his access. My Iron Man suit was just on the screen _twerking_!” Tony screeched, pointing to another screen which had captured a loop of the hack. Steve went over and watched the screen, suppressing his grin at the animation jiggling its butt at the screen. So that's what twerking was. It would be really quite amusing, if they hadn't hacked into Tony Stark's system to do it. This was a threat. A liability.

“Your system has holes.” Tasha noted, typing away. Steve assumed they were trying to track the hack.

“Every system has holes. I just don't know which one he came in.” Tony responded, throwing his keyboard. Obviously, he couldn't find the hacker.

“At least he's not digging?” Steve offered, trying to calm the man down. His face was an alarming shade of red.

“I couldn't stop him if he was!” Tony yelled. Tasha raised an eyebrow, surprised by Tony's admission. It was a big one. Tony, Tony fucking Stark, couldn't stop this hacker in his own system?

“He didn't trip any of your security measures?” Tasha asked softly.

“I told you, he didn't dig into anything. But he had access to the system. Enough access to put _that_ ,” Tony pointed angrily at the twerking Iron Man, “On every screen in my system. I was in the suit at the time. Damn near crashed. But no, he didn't trip any security measures. Nothing. I didn't know he was there until _that._ ”

Steve turned the offending monitor off, because it seemed counter productive to calming Tony down.

“Well, you said he had done it before,” Steve offered, earning an exasperated sigh from Tasha when his comment wasn't appreciated. “Let me finish, Tash. If he did it before, he's probably going to do it again. Can't you set a trap or something?”

Tony and Tasha exchanged a look, then simultaneously turned back to their keyboards. Steve watched them type for a few minutes, but quickly got bored and wandered back to the elevator.

“To the gym, please.”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers.” Jarvis responded, whisking him off.

Steve put in his time at the gym, ate dinner, and brought food to Tony and Tasha before heading to bed. Tasha would be sufficiently occupied until Clint returned.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

Steve stretched, easing his muscles loose despite the cool air. Then he started his laps, looking for someone to challenge him this morning. No one could, he was a super soldier after all, but it was fun watching them try. He got far too much amusement watching the buff men he usually chose struggle to keep up before quitting. He was too early this morning, there was hardly anyone out. The only person running laps at a reasonable pace was a woman. Though it was still mostly dark, he guessed she was Asian. Her dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail; she was wearing long pants and a tank top. As he watched, he realized her pace was more than reasonable. Perfect. Steve grinned and started running, knowing it wouldn't take long to catch her.

“On your left,” Steve called out as he passed her the first time. He waited for her footsteps to increase pace or her frustrated sigh, and was disappointed when he didn't get either. He made a face and increased his own pace slightly, so he could catch up to her a little more quickly.

“On your left,” He called out again, risking a quick glance at her as he passed her. He was right, she was Asian. And pretty to boot, despite the sweat her exertion caused. She flashed her dark eyes up to his. Before Steve could consider why it might be a terrible idea, he winked at her. As he darted away, he smacked himself mentally. That wasn't very polite. What in the world was he thinking? He made a mental note to apologize to her when she was done running. As he caught up to her again (damn, he was impressed with her stamina), he couldn't resist doing it just one more time.

“On your-”

Her foot shot out, tripping him. He recovered quickly enough to keep himself from completely face planting, but not fast enough to prevent himself from ending up flat on his back, watching birds fly overhead. He heard her falter, then stop. She sighed and headed back to him.

“I'm sorry,” She said, offering him her hand. “I figured Steve Rogers would have better reflexes.”

“Steve Rogers?” He asked, accepting her hand, though he got to his feet without her assistance. She smirked at him, shaking her head.

“Would you prefer I call you _Captain America_?” She asked, striking the pose that superheros always had on their comic covers – hands on hips, staring dramatically off into the distance. He grinned and shook his head.

“No, Steve is fine. Nice to meet you...” Steve stuck out his hand and waited for her name.

“Skye. Skye Light.” She replied easily, shaking his hand. He managed to keep his expression neutral at her odd name. Maybe she was a hippie child. “So, am I forgiven for tripping you even though you were being a jerk?”

“Only if you'll accept my apology for being a jerk.”

“Done and done.” Skye ran a hand down her thigh. “Sorry, I need to walk.”

“Can I join you?” Steve asked, even though he had two more laps to go. This woman sparked his interest.

“It's a free country,” She replied, shrugging.

“Yes, it is,” Steve agreed with a grin. She started walking away, cooling her muscles down to prevent cramping. Steve hurried to catch up to her, noticing a small blue triangle on the front of her shoulder. “What's it mean?”

“What mean?” Skye asked, tilting her head in confusion. Steve smiled and ghosted a finger over the tattoo.

“Ah. The trinity. Power, Intellect, Love,” Skye grinned, touching a different point on the triangle with each word. Steve smiled softly, surprised at the thought behind such a simple tattoo. They walked in silence for a moment, taking in the cool morning air.

“Do you do this often?” Steve asked, waving his hand to the outdoors.

“Trip up Earth's Mightiest Defender?” Skye asked with a smile. “Can't say I do.”

Steve stuck his tongue out at her, surprising himself with his childish behavior. She just laughed like she was pleased with his response.

“Run out here,” Steve clarified.

“Most mornings. Not every.”

“Ah, another early riser.” Steve nodded, noticing the sky was lightening up.

“Hell no,” Skye shuddered. She pointed to her chest. “Night owl.”

“But it's early.”

“I got hung up.” Skye grinned at his questioning look. “No, not like you got hung up on my foot, Face Plant.”

“Face Plant?” Steve asked, pointing a finger at his chest with a fake shocked expression.

“You _barely_ avoided a full on face plant. I know you would have recovered just fine, but cement burn is not fun. Plus, think how that would make _me_ feel? I would have to escort you home and explain to the other resident super heroes why their Grandpa was hurt.” Skye told him cheekily.

He couldn't help his laugh. She was refreshing. Obviously she knew all about him, everyone did, but she wasn't pestering him with super hero questions. She wasn't intimidated by him and she certainly wasn't afraid of offending him. He only knew her for a few minutes and he already felt more of a connection with her than with all of his other dates combined. Tasha could take her blind dates and shove them in a dark hole; he could find his own women damn it. Now, he just needed to work up the nerve to ask her out.

“Fine, you're right, Ninja Feet.” Steve retorted, waiting expectantly for her response to her own nick name. She crinkled her nose and smirked. He grinned, proud of himself. “Why are you running now if you're a night owl?”

“I do my best work at night, but at some point I need to crash. Running makes me tired. Work, run, sleep. Repeat.”

“No shower time in there?” Steve teased, taking half a step away from her with a grimace. "Gross."

She grinned and shrugged. “Occasionally.”

“What about food? Do you ever eat?” Steve pressed, his tone still teasing. He was working up his nerve to ask her out. She could get food with him. People did that for dates. He liked to eat. Damn, he was out of practice. It was embarrassing, really.

“I eat like a horse,” She laughed.

Steve thought he could do this. He could ask her out. He opened his mouth to ask, when his Avenger phone went off. Loudly. Steve silently cursed Tony Stark and his timing. He shot an apologetic smile at Skye. She waved him off with an easy grin.

“Duty calls. Try not to get hurt.”

“It was nice meeting you, Skye.” Steve replied before racing back to Stark Tower.

 


	5. Introducing Humping Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony catches the person hacking his system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything, except Jack.
> 
> Sorry about the short chapter. The next one will be longer, promise.

“What happened?” Steve asked as he exited the elevator. Jarvis had taken him to the security floor. That meant they already had someone in custody. Steve walked up to Tasha, Clint, and Tony. They were watching someone through the one-way glass. Tasha smirked when she saw him.

“Look what the Iron Man drug in,” She said, the smirk not present in her tone. Steve stepped around her to get a good look. A young, Asian man sat in the room. He was tipping his chair back, then letting it bang loudly back onto the floor. The expression on his face was a combination of boredom and what Steve associated with one too many hits to the head.

“Jack. Why is Jack in the interrogation room?” Steve asked, not realizing he posed his question out loud.

“You know this jack off, Capsicle?” Tony asked, spinning to shove a finger into Steve's chest. Steve swatted his finger away.

“I don't _know_ him. Met him yesterday. Briefly. Very briefly. Why is he here?”

“He's the one that's been hacking my system.” Tony said furiously. “This fucking kid. Look at him, mocking me. That face – that face right there? That's on purpose. I want to put my fucking suit back on and get him to talk to me!”

“Back on?” Steve asked.

“He wore it when we went to retrieve him,” Clint offered, smirking. He was behind Tony's line of vision, so he didn't have to hide his amusement.

“So the trap worked?”

“Yes.” Tony said shortly.

“What was the suit doing this time?” Steve couldn't help but ask. Clint pressed his knuckles into his mouth to muffle his laughter as Tony turned his computer screen to show Steve. The animated Iron Man suit was, essentially, humping the screen. When the loop started over, he could see a giant red and gold _penis_ pumping in and out of an artificial hole on the screen. Eventually the whole Iron Man broke free, scattering the background of Tony's laptop into pieces, and Iron Man was once again humping the screen. Then it started over.

“Really, it was very well done.” Clint offered. Steve took advantage of Tony's turned back to grin briefly, then hide his amusement. He glanced around and noticed all the screens in the room were dark. Tasha pressed her lips together, nodding slightly. Tony hadn't been able to get the image from his system, yet.

“Tony, the kid didn't do it.” Steve said finally.

“I caught him. In the act. Would you like to see the webcam view...when I scrub this image off all my fucking servers? Cause I can show you him doing this.” Tony replied, his temper hot.

“But Tasha and I were having coffee in the same place as him when you were hacked yesterday...” Steve trailed off, putting the pieces together as he spoke. Tasha nodded, having already reached the same conclusion. The woman. She was the one on the computer the whole time. And at the park, she was on the computer. Suddenly their _twerking_ conversation made way more sense.

“He won't tell me who she is.” Tasha shrugged. Her casual acceptance of a failed interrogation was setting warning bells off in his head. She never failed to get her answers. “Would you like a go at him, Rogers?”

“No.” Steve blurted out. His ears burned red with embarrassment. Tasha didn't smile, but her eyes did it for her.

“I could offer you some advice before you go in.” She commented.

“Romanov.” Steve warned in his Leader of the Avengers voice. They had a deal and she would not break it.

“Maybe _Clint_ could offer you some.” She replied casually, ignoring his tone. It was then that he realized his mistake. The deal only covered Tony. He hadn't even considered Clint. He glanced at Tasha's lover and saw his wide grin. Of course she had told him. Damn loopholes.

“Let him stew in there. I'm going to shower and eat. I've got a pretty good guess where she'll be this afternoon.” Steve said finally, then fled to the elevator before anyone could say otherwise.

As funny as the animation was, the hacking was not. Tony had records of everything for Stark Industries and the Avengers on his servers. This was a massive security breach; one he intended to plug. Quickly.

 


	6. Snarky Skye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve figures out who the woman at the park is and Skye has some fun at Steve's expense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything, except Jack.

 When Tasha and Clint cornered him later, he decided to take evasive action. Anything to avoid the Jack conversation he knew they wanted to have.

“So, as much as I've loved your blind dates, I'm going to have to turn down your services.” Steve said casually, tossing his paper towel in the garbage. He used the kitchen sponge to wipe down the counter tops, cleaning up after his lunch mess.

“Is that so?” Tasha asked, her amusement clear in her voice.

“Did you find a nice young man to settle down with?” Clint asked from his perch atop the counter top.

“Turns out, I'm quite capable of meeting women on my own.” Steve shrugged, struggling not to emphasize _women_ because he knew they would jump all over that.

“And when would that have happened?” Tasha asked, plucking an apple from the fruit basket. “I was with you last night. And you've been here most of the morning.”

“Most of the morning,” Steve nodded in agreement.

“Your run?” Clint asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Spill.” Tasha grinned, pulling herself onto the counter beside Clint. Steve looked between the two of them, tugging on his chin. He glanced at the clock and decided it was probably late enough to head to the park. He grinned at them, shook his head and left the kitchen. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch on his way to the elevator. The apple whizzed past his head as the elevator doors closed.

“Jarvis, could you inform Tasha that she missed?” Steve grinned, slipping into his jacket.

“Certainly, Mr. Rogers.”

Steve decided to walk to the park, stalling just a little bit. He didn't want to get there too early and arrive before her. It had been later in the afternoon when he encountered the pair yesterday. Still, it was a nice day and it certainly seemed like she was taking advantage of the weather by bringing a blanket. He knew that Tasha would track his phone and meet him with a car so he wouldn't have to haul mystery woman back to the Tower on foot.

Steve arrived before mystery woman. He sighed and wandered the path that ran through the park, keeping an eye out for her approach. When he made it back to the tree, he was surprised to find her there. Where had she come from? Her back was still turned to him as she spread her blanket on the ground. She turned and settled herself on the blanket, clearly enjoying the sun on her face. Steve's gut dropped. Maybe he did need Tasha's blind dates. Apparently, he had poor taste in women.

“This is not how I expected to see you again,” Steve informed Skye, helping himself to a corner of her blanket. Her face whipped over to his; she had been digging in her bag and missed his approach.

“Face Plant! What are you doing here?” Skye asked, smiling. “I'm glad to see you didn't get hurt during your super heroing.”

“That's not a word.” Steve responded, glumly.

“Are you okay, Steve?” She asked, shoving her laptop back into her bag. She turned to give him her full attention.

“Where's your boyfriend?” He asked, wondering if she had noticed he was missing yet.

“Is that the line he fed you? Am I the psycho ex? God, he uses that all the time.” Skye laughed, pushing her hair back over her shoulder. When Steve didn't say anything, she continued in a nervous rush. “In case you hadn't noticed, Jack is gay. Like, very gay.”

“Did you do it on purpose? Did you know who I was when he came up to me?”

“Complicated question,” Skye dodged. “Yes, I knew who you were...so did he. But he owed me coffee if he lost the bet. He thought he could get a date out of you, I didn't. I totally won coffee, so thanks.”

“We have Jack.” Steve announced softly. Skye's eyes flew wide open.

“Who?”

“The Avengers. At Stark Tower. In an interrogation room. Tony caught him hacking his server. Except we both know Jack didn't hack Stark's system.”

“Let him go. I'll come fix it.”

“Oh, you're definitely coming with me.” Steve said sternly, letting himself fall into his stern Captain America persona.

He just couldn't catch a break. Skye was even more beautiful than he remembered. It suited her to wear her hair down. Her makeup was light and accented her face nicely. She was beautiful, smart, snarky, and...maybe a terrorist. Why else would she hack into Stark's system? Why else would she have the _skills_ to hack into Stark's system?

Steve stood, offering Skye his hand. She stared at him for a long moment, making up her mind. He thought he saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but then she was shrugging and standing, easily avoiding his extended hand. She dropped her messenger bag over her head, tightening the strap slightly.

“Would America's original heart throb carry my blanket?” Skye asked innocently. A little too innocently, if Steve had been paying attention. The second he bent over to get the blanket, ignoring her newest nickname with surprising grace, she bolted.

She didn't get very far, obviously, but Steve was annoyed at having to chase her anyway. He stripped her of her laptop bag, handing it off to Tasha who showed up just in time to watch the escape attempt. Steve pulled Skye's hands behind her back, holding her wrists in one of his palms. There were handcuffs in the car.

“It was nice of you to invite your girlfriend along,” Skye grinned. “Though, you probably should have waited for her before rushing out to be the hero all by your self. Ms. Romanov, how does it feel to be left in Cap's dust? Does he do this a lot? Is it because you're a woman?”

Tasha fell back a step so she could shoot Steve a look behind Skye's back. He shook his head so she smirked and pulled a pair of handcuffs from the glove box of the car.

“Mr. Manners over here hasn't introduced us yet, so let me. Mr. Manners give me a hand please.” Skye waited, like she was expecting Steve to release her. She sighed and shook her head. “I'm Skye. Skye Diver. Obviously, you're Natasha Romanov. The infamous Black Widow. It's an honor.”

Skye stepped forward and bumped her pelvis against Tasha's. Steve growled behind her. Tasha raised an eyebrow in good humor, though only a select few knew her well enough to know that tell.

“What? I tried for a hand shake but someone couldn't make that float. Besides, what's a hip bump between girlfriends?”

Steve quickly exchanged the cold metal for his makeshift handcuffs.

“Oh, kinky. Mr. Rogers, you shouldn't have.” Skye flirted, wiggling her wrists in the handcuffs. “I mean, you could at least buy a girl dinner first.”

Tasha began her pat down, hiding her smirk. The girl was funny. Not that you could tell by Steve's mood. She wondered what had happened in the past twenty minutes to change his demeanor so much.

“Mr. Rogers, your girl is touching me in inappropriate places... _and I like it_.” Skye whispered the last part with a moan. “Wait. Is that why you brought her in? You want a threesome? I don't know if they had those back before your ice days, but I bet Ms. Romanov and I could teach you a few things. I hear she's pretty flexible. I am too. I mean, not like her. God, no. Not like her...”

“Shut up, Skye.” Steve barked, guiding her into the back seat. Tasha got in the driver's seat, handing Steve the laptop bag over the center console. Skye continued through it all.

“...but I got a little something something. Don't worry, we won't leave you disappointed. It would be helpful though, if you let us in on what you like. Save us a little time. We could just skip to the good stuff. How long has it been since someone's had... _the good stuff_?”

Skye shifted forward on the back seat so she could rest her head on the back of Steve's seat.

“Steve? Mr. Rogers? Cap? Mr. America? Are you ignoring me?”

“Romanov.” Steve said dryly. Tasha grinned and accelerated the car quickly, slamming Skye backwards into her seat.

“Ow.” Skye muttered. “I may be bleeding. Captain Grumpy Pants put my metal confinement bracelets on a bit tight. Captain Grumpy Pants, would you check me for boo boos? Also, would you kiss them all better if you find any?”

Tasha couldn't resist the smirk she allowed to show for only a brief moment. Steve saw it though and shook his head. When they reached the Tower, Steve pulled Skye from the backseat and escorted her to the elevator. He released her as soon as the doors closed. Skye turned and held her wrists up as far as she could.

“Are you going to check me for boo boos now?” She asked innocently.

“You're fine.” Steve replied in a clipped tone. Skye smirked at Tasha.

“He's in quite a mood, huh? Isn't that your job as girlfriend to...put him in a _better mood_?” Skye said suggestively, wagging her eyebrows. “Are you afraid of the blow out?”

Tasha took a small breath to contain her amusement. God, the girl was just like Clint. Escorted into the Avenger's lair by two Avengers and she was plying on the filthy comments. Steve's ears were red, showing his embarrassment. He couldn't look at the girl. Tasha lead the girl off the elevator and into a short hallway that would lead to the interrogation room. Skye stopped.

“There are two theories on the internet, if you're interested. One theory is that there is just like this one _massive_ wad of seventy year old cum just waiting for one lucky...or unlucky, ew... woman to blow it for him.” Skye made a skeptical noise in her throat. Tasha let go of Skye and disappeared into the back room before she lost her composure. Clint was already in tears, obviously having been listening in.

“Poor Cap. His ears are going to melt off his head.” Clint gasped. Skye's voice was still ringing through the room's speakers.

“The second theory,” Skye was saying, “Is that you're going to have this ridiculous libido. Like seventy years worth all shoved into like...ten years. I don't know. I didn't do the math. Still, I think that seems way more likely than having seventy years worth of cum just waiting there. You know? I just don't think _medically_ that it's possible.”

“Jack is in here.” Steve's disembodied voice muttered stonily.

“Here, I don't need these.” Skye grinned, handing Steve her open handcuffs. She stumbled slightly, falling into his chest. “Nice. Very firm.” She muttered, patting his chest.

Steve huffed and pushed her away from him.

“How did you get these off?” Steve asked.

“Guess you better check me better next time, huh?” Skye winked. The door was opened and part of Steve's frame could be seen through the glass. Jack glanced up with bored disinterest. Skye saw Jack and skipped into the room. Steve slammed the door shut on both of them. Skye turned to Jack, eying him seriously.  


	7. Jackson Herbert!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve drops Skye off with Jack in the interrogation room. Skye does some investigating of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, except Jack.

Steve took a moment in the hallway to calm himself.

“Shit, Nat. Look.” Clint muttered, holding up one of his burner phones. The Stark phones were all infected with the animated Iron Man. Security footage of Steve's running route showed the man himself grinning down at a very pretty woman...who looked an awful lot like Skye.

“Well now I know why he's so grumpy all of the sudden. Poor guy can't catch a break.”

“We're putting a roll of duct tape in the car for next time,” Steve grunted, coming into the back room. He had worked himself into a marginally better mindset. He had just met her. Sure, they had a connection, but nothing had happened. He wasn't invested yet. There was no reason why he should be so upset by her...terrorism. Was it too much to ask the universe for one woman? He didn't think that was asking too much.

He expected snark from Clint, but he was strangely silent. Tasha too. He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth though, so he stepped up to the glass with the duo. Tony joined them after a few minutes, obviously having been alerted by Jarvis.

“You okay?” Skye asked softly, pulling herself onto the table in front of Jack's chair. She knew there were mics all over the room, so she did her best to speak softly. Jack rolled his shoulders but nodded. “You've been sitting like that since this morning?”

“Yeah.” Jack replied, just as softly. Skye sighed angrily and jumped down from the table.

“Why didn't you let yourself out?” She muttered, obviously forcing herself to use whispers.

She stepped behind Jack's chair and quickly picked the lock to his handcuffs. Jack eased his arms forward, rubbing his wrists.

“Forgot about it. By the time I remembered, I was numb. Couldn't reach my...”

“Shut it.” Skye interrupted, casting a serious look towards the mirror. Jack blushed and nodded, clearly taking her reminder that they were being watched.

“Damn, she's fast.” Tony muttered. “What'd she use?”

“Didn't you check him?” Tasha asked Clint, questioning whatever the Asian duo was referencing. Skye clearly still had her tool on her, and it sounded like he still had his.

“I didn't take any jewelry off,” Clint shrugged. Tasha smacked him. “What? He's got a lot. Besides, I notice she still has hers on.”

“Besides...I was hoping he would stop in.” Jack grinned. Skye laughed and shook her head. Tasha and Clint both grinned over at Steve, catching on to Jack's _hope_.

“Jesus. The things you do for some tail. Which reminds me, why'd they pick you up?” She asked, reaching up to rub one of his shoulders. Nobody missed the way he stiffened and peeked up at Skye. Skye frowned, held up a finger to silence him, then dragged her chair over to the one-way glass. She stood on the chair and reached up, fiddling with something above the mirror. Her shirt pulled up slightly, revealing a few inches of toned core. Tasha leaned forward and inspected the exposed flesh, exhaling quickly. Steve missed the way Tasha went to Clint's side, letting him wrap an arm around her. Clint didn't miss the expression on her face though.

“What is she doing?” Steve asked, trying to peer up high enough to see her hands. Tony sighed and turned a monitor back on. Iron Man was still humping the screen, but if you could look around him, Skye's fingers were visible.

“She's disabling my recording device.” Tony muttered, watching her yank a wire free from the once perfectly disguised camera. The monitor went black, except for Iron Man. Tony sighed and turned the monitor off. “Don't know _how_ she knew it was there...”

“They're still listening, but it won't be recorded, so spill. Now.” Skye threatened softly, settling herself across the table from Jack. He looked glad for the space between them.

“I was bored.” He offered, raising a skinny shoulder.

“You're always bored.” Skye retorted. “What did you do? Tell me you didn't bang Tony's long lost son or something.”

Clint snorted at the idea of Tony having a kid. That earned him an elbow from Tasha and a smack to the back of the head from Tony.

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Jack replied quickly. He reached up to tuck his hair into position, clearly bracing himself. “I let Iron Man go.”

“Which?”

“Which?” Tony squawked, throwing his hands up. “How many does she have?”

“Humping Man?” Jack whispered. Steve and Tasha could hear him just fine, but Tony and Clint leaned in to catch his words. Skye smacked her hand on the table, making Jack and Tony flinch back.

“Jackson Herbert,” Skye started, her angry tone carefully controlled. She started in on him in a language Steve didn't know; her voice a quiet hiss, though with his super hearing he didn't have a problem catching it.

“What language is that?” Steve asked, glancing at Tasha. Her head was cocked and she was listening intently.

“Languages, I think. Definitely some Russian and Chinese. I'm only catching a few words here and there. She's not pleased with him.”

“Obviously,” Clint snorted, earning himself an elbow to the ribs.

“Jarvis, can you translate?” Tony asked his AI. There was a silence where Jarvis analyzed Skye's shouting, then he responded.

“She is not following conventional language rules. I can only offer my interpretation. It will not be an exact translation.”

“Do it.” Tony replied.

“Jackson Herbert!” Jarvis translated, making Tasha chuckle. He was not attempting to modify his tone, so Skye's words sounded odd.

Miss Skye: “You let Humping Man go? I explicative told you yesterday, just explicative yesterday, that he wasn't done yet. How did you get so bored, at five in the morning, that you would ruin everything?

Mr. Jackson Herbert: He never caught us before.

Miss Skye: Because the programming was done! We could explicative around with Tony explicative Stark because the programming was done! Do you know what happens now? You know what we have to do, again?

Mr. Jackson Herbert: But we just got here...I don't think...

Miss Skye: No, you don't think. You just throw around stuff you don't understand because you're bored. Humping Man was going to be perfect. He was going to be perfect...

Mr. Jackson Herbert: Everything you make is perfect. That's why I thought I could do it. I didn't know he would find me!

Miss Skye: It's Tony Stark. Of course he could find you. Especially since the program wasn't finished! If Tony Stark knows where we are, you can be damn sure _they'll_ know where we are too. If not now, then soon.”

“Who are _they_?” Tasha wondered out loud.

Jarvis' translation finished after Skye was done whisper yelling at Jack. In the cell, Skye was pacing the length of the table. She exhaled a frustrated breath and shook her hands out. She rolled her head to loosen her neck muscles, muttering to herself. Jack just sat quietly, watching her pace. His entire body was hunched over, making himself as small as possible. Steve could see the tears on his cheeks and couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for him. Tasha couldn't break him, but a few well placed words from Skye and Jack was lost. It was easy to see they were important to each other.

“I'm sorry,” He muttered finally. Skye stopped pacing and turned to Jack. Her angry posture fell when she saw how he looked.

“Well, shit.” She groaned, walking over and plopping herself in his lap. Jack wrapped his arms around her waist. Skye held his face in her hands and lowered her forehead to his. “I know you are. God, I know. I'm sorry I yelled. I love you so much and you're so thoughtless sometimes. You're going to get yourself killed and then I'm going to be all alone.”

Tasha and Clint both looked at over at Steve, watching him watch the tender scene. His stern Captain America game face was on. He wasn't so detached that he didn't notice the matching watches the two had on their left wrists. Skye's was visible from her hand position on Jack's face, and Jack's wrists were visible around her waist. Tony was still puzzling over Jarvis' translation.

“Jarvis, how many languages did Skye use?” He asked, pulling on his goatee.

“13 sir, if you count the different dialects.”

“Is there any pattern to the usage?”

“It appears that Miss Skye has made a conglomerate language.”

"I don't understand," Tony sighed. Jarvis tried again.

"Her speech uses different languages; each word is in a different language. For example, "done" was always in Russian, though other words were in Chinese, Arabic, French..."

"Yeah, I get the picture." Tony interrupted.

“Steve, he's obviously gay.” Clint offered, trying to pull him from his brooding.

“Okay, plan.” Skye said suddenly. She pulled herself from Jack's lap, settling herself cross legged on the table top. She turned to face the one-way mirror. “Mr. Stark. I'm going to assume you're in there. I'm sorry about wrecking your camera. I'll fix it.”

“I'll fix it,” Jack corrected, huffing. Skye grinned and nodded.

“He'll fix it.” She smiled back at Jack before steeling herself. “I'm going to lay my cards on the table. Okay, nope...that's a lie. I'm going to lay some of my cards on the table. The ones pertinent to this situation. I'll fix everything. I'll take Iron Man off your screens and promise not to put him back up. I'll help you fix the holes in your security. Hell, I'll make it as perfect as I can get it, and that's a damn good offer for you because...well, you know – yours sucks. But you have to let my brother go first.”

 


	8. This song is Tony's Theme

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye begins negotiations for Jack's freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything, just Jack.

 “That wasn't what I was expecting,” Tony commented.

“Her brother?” Clint clarified. Tasha nodded, turning to smile at Steve. Steve was far from swayed. She could still be a terrorist, even if she seemed like a kid with no self control.

“I'm going to go in and talk to them. You guys stay here. Clint, damn it. I mean it.”

When Skye didn't get an immediate answer from behind the glass, she assumed she was being ignored or dismissed. She huffed and turned to her brother.

“Jack, block the door.”

“Oh shit, what's she doing?” Tasha asked, pulling away from Clint.

“Let me clarify things for you.” Skye said seriously. Far more seriously than the Avengers had seen her yet. Jack's chair was jammed under the door knob and he was leaning his slight frame against the door as well. His expression was equal parts faked hostility and exasperation. “If you don't let my brother go, shit's going to hit the fan. Hard. If you think the worst I can do to your system is make Iron Man fuck your screen, you're dead wrong. I can make your lives hell. Starting with whatever is in this file.”

“Where did she get that?” Tasha asked, glaring at Steve. It was the folded over mission file that Fury had given them the day before. Steve reached into his jacket, knowing full well he wasn't going to find the file there.

“Oh, you're so firm,” Tasha mimicked in a girly tone, shoving Steve in the chest. “You didn't notice she picked your pockets?”

“Obviously not!” Steve retorted, just as angrily.

“Maybe she should read it.” Tony shrugged. “I haven't spent a lot of time on it yet, but I doubt I can get past the security issues. Not discretely at least. Maybe she could help.”

“You want her on this?” Steve asked incredulously.

“I don't know. She's right though, she could have done far worse to my system. Dancing Iron Man is just child's play. If she wanted to hurt me, she could have. Easily. I think that says a lot about her motivations.”

“Her motivations?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She wasn't trying to get information or tamper with any of my files, even though she obviously had access if she wanted it. She couldn't have infected everything so thoroughly if she didn't. I think they were just having fun; taunting me.”

“It is fun taunting you,” Clint grinned.

“Okay, shut up you three.” Tony laughed, pulling a microphone forward. “Skye, can you unblock the door so I can come in? I don't want to hurt Jack by blasting my way in.”

“You put the suit on for us?” Skye asked, raising her eyebrows. “Jack, did you hear that? We got the suit.”

“Maybe he was practicing his twerking.” Jack shrugged, pulling the chair from the door. He put the chair back in the right spot, then started twerking against his sister's elbow.

“Ew,” She laughed, smacking her brother's butt.

“Ow, you know I bruise...” Jack muttered, rubbing his behind. Tony laughed and exited the back room. He reappeared seconds later in the doorway to the holding cell. When he walked in, music started blaring.

_This is a song about a superhero named Tony_   
_It's called Tony's Theme_   
_He's got the oil on his chain, for a ride in the rain_   
_No baloney_   
_Ride around on my bicycle like a pony_   
_I'm waving hi, hi, hi, hi, hi_   
_Gu-gu-gu-Gimme a scream_   
_Give me, give me the theme_   
_Of Tony_   
_To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny_

Skye and Jack bust out laughing. Skye fell back on the table to clutch her sides.

“Very funny,” Tony scowled, though his tone was not as scathing as he wanted it to be. He turned his back on the two so he could compose his face. They just got his sense of humor.

“Jack, you weren't very honest with me, were you?” Skye said finally, pushing herself back up.

“I kind of forgot about this part,” Jack replied, grinning. He could tell his sister wasn't mad.

“What did he do?” Tony asked, settling himself in Skye's chair. She seemed perfectly comfortable on the table.

“I created a ghost file for Jarvis...but I didn't place it!” Skye added hastily, seeing Tony's smile drop. “It's harmless. Just...theme music?”

“I picked the songs.” Jack added helpfully. When Tony didn't get angry, Jack turned to his sister. “Either he took the suit off when we teased him, or he wasn't wearing it. For one, I am disappointed.”

“Well, I'm grateful.” Skye retorted, thrusting her hips minutely away from the table. Jack grinned, catching the humping reference. “I don't think I could talk to him right now, if he was wearing it.” She turned to face Tony again. “Can I see it?”

“You're going to have to, if I let you take it down.” Tony replied dryly.

“Psh, let me take it down?” Skye huffed. “If you could do it yourself, it would have been done already. Jack, why don't you go fix the camera so we can earn back some good grace with Mr. Stark here.”

“That would be a good start,” Tony nodded. Jack sighed dramatically and brought his chair over to the one-way glass. He was taller than his sister, but he still needed a boost to reach the camera. He grinned wickedly at his sister, then got on the chair as suggestively as he could. He stood on the chair with his hip cocked out and fluttered his scarf end at the glass.

“Tony, is Steve in there?” Jack asked, coyly checking himself out in the mirror. He pouted his lips and checked his hair. Tony laughed out loud and nodded. Jack looked satisfied.

“Hi Stevie,” He whispered huskily, then blew on the glass and drew a heart in the fog.

“Oh, God. We need to keep them.” Clint gasped, wiping tears from his eye. Steve was beside him, his face buried in his hands. His ears were bright red, betraying his embarrassment.

“Steve, you know you could still ask for advice.” Tasha grinned, tossing an arm around his shoulders.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up.” Steve muttered. Jack smirked and reached up to fiddle with the wires his sister had pulled loose.

“Ms. Romanov, if I could have my laptop, I could take care of Humping Man for Tony.” Skye grinned, also speaking to the glass.

“Wanna take it to her?” Tasha asked Steve, holding out her bag. Steve shot her a silent look that spoke volumes. Tasha grinned and exited the room. Clint turned the monitor back on, watching the Humping Man dance on the black screen. He knew Jack was successful when his fingers came into view. When Tasha knocked on the door, Jack hurried off the chair and over to his sister. He had an expectant grin on his face.

“Wonder what her song is,” Clint muttered, rubbing his chin.

“Why would she have a song too?” Steve replied dryly. Clint pointed to the expression on Jack's face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's theme song is a fragment from Pixies "Tony's Theme." I really only chose it because it uses Tony so frequently and I thought it was funny. I'm sure there are other songs that would suit Tony better.


	9. Skye O'Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tasha and Clint get to hear their theme song, Skye gets to see her handiwork, and they all try to convince Steve to come hear his theme song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything, except Jack.

Tony called to Tasha through the door and she came in with the computer bag.

_Oh, I'll eat you up alive,_   
_Swallow all your pride!_   
_I'm gonna crawl in your window_   
_And no one is ever gonna know,_   
_I'm gonna come and take control_   
_That's the deal!_   
_I'm a black widow!_   
_I'm a black widow!_

“Oh, Jack. Good choice,” Skye laughed. Clint gave Steve a 'told you so' look.

“Ms. Romanov,” Jack said politely, offering her the chair. Tasha took it with a stony expression, though Tony could see the humor below it. Good, she enjoyed their humor too. It would make keeping them so much easier. Because he did want to keep them.

“Wifi password?” Skye asked, opening her laptop.

“Very funny,” Tony replied dryly. Skye grinned at him from over the top of her laptop.

“I don't know that we've been introduced, formally.” Skye smiled. “Skye O'Clouds. Nice to meet you Mr. Stark.”

“Jack Chang,” Jack added, holding out his hand delicately. Tony surprised him by kissing the back of it.

“Even he can tell you're the Queen,” Skye told Jack with an insolent smirk. Jack blushed faintly and withdrew his hand, being careful not to wipe it on anything. Skye was typing rapidly in the background, carefully watching Tony's interaction with her brother while she worked to undo her programming. “I'm going to need access to one of your monitors, to make sure it gets taken down properly.”

“Right,” Tony grinned, catching her hidden smirk. “You just want to see your handiwork, don't you?”

“You have no idea how hard it was not to override your cameras so I could watch you reacting to our Iron Men.” Skye nodded, grinning cheekily.

“We would be having a different conversation if you did that,” Tony replied seriously.

“I know. That's why we never tampered.” Skye replied, shrugging. At the look Tony gave her she grinned. “Okay, with the exception of the theme music, but you have to admit it was funny. Once I've seen all of them, I'll take that protocol away too.”

“You have one for everyone?” Tony asked, raising his eyebrow. Skye turned to look at her brother who nodded. Then they both turned to grin at Tony.

“Steve and I didn't get music when we brought you to the Tower,” Tasha commented.

“It only works if we're in the room together.” Skye explained, wagging a finger between herself and her brother. She looked at Tony, “So, can I see him?”

“Clint?” Tasha asked, glancing towards the mirror. After a moment, the mirror turned into a screen, showing Skye and Jack their Humping Man in all his glory. Skye and Jack bust into laughter, holding each other.

“The intro was a nice touch,” Skye gasped finally, still holding onto her brother. He appeared to be keeping her from falling off the table.

“Couldn't resist,” Jack shrugged.

“How soon would you like him taken down?” Skye asked Tony, turning the conversation serious again. Tony could hear the underlying question.

“Your brother would be safe here, while you work.” Tony shrugged.

“Not my deal.” Skye replied, shaking her head. “I'm not doing squat til he's gone.”

“And I'm not leaving until I've seen the theme music.” Jack added hastily. Skye shot him a look but conceded. She wanted to see them too.

“Clint, get in here.” Tasha called. “Steve's going to be more work.” She told Skye.

“I can imagine,” Skye said dryly, shooting her brother a look. He pretended to look ashamed of himself. Clint walked into the room a moment later, looking expectantly at Tasha.

 _Wayfarin' warrior soul_  
_Still wild, the archer stands_  
 _Arrow measured to the goal_  
 _Sing of strong and living man_

“Aw, you got a good one.” Skye grinned, holding her hand out to Clint. “Nice to meet you, Archer Man.”

“The pleasure's been all mine,” Clint replied honestly, twisting her hand to kiss the back, much like Tony had done to Jack's hand. Skye pretended to fan her face.

“This is moving too fast, I'm a proper southern gal,” She replied in a passable southern drawl. Clint laughed and sat next to her on the table. They turned, in sync, to the mirror.

“That was creepy,” Tony muttered to Tasha. She nodded slightly, but turned to the mirror too. Obviously, they were waiting for Steve.

“Please?” Skye asked, surprisingly sincere. “It'll be over in like thirty seconds.”

“Less than that,” Jack added.

“I can't start until Jack is gone,” Skye added. “Please, Steve. He needs a head start.”

The three Avengers in the room exchanged a look. There was a long silence, but Steve didn't enter the room.

“Face Plant? Please? I'll be good. No more embarrassing you on purpose. And I'll give you your file back? I'll keep Jack off you, if that helps any?”

“Face Plant?” Clint mouthed to Tasha. She shrugged, not knowing either. There was a small thud, which Clint suspected was Steve's head banging off the one-way glass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tasha's theme song is Black Widow, by Britney Spears. Clint's is Heart of the Archer, by Heart.


	10. Getting a Head Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve concedes to Skye's demands. The Avengers make an offer Skye and Jack would be stupid to refuse.

Skye turned to Jack.

“You're going to reign it in,” She whispered, pointing a finger at him. “Yes, you know how. And you're going to apologize. Obviously, he's not interested.”

“Fine,” Jack hissed back.

“A sincere apology.” Skye added. Jack rolled his eyes but nodded his head, just as the door opened. Steve looked sullen.

 _I close my eyes and see you before me_  
_Think I would die if you were to ignore me_  
_A fool could see just how much I adore you_  
_I'd get down on my knees; I'd do anything for you_

 _I don't want anybody else_  
_When I think about you I touch myself_  
_ahh ohh i don't want anybody else_  
_oh no oh on oh no yeah_

“Jack,” Skye sighed, exasperated.

“It was that or l-l-l-l-lick you like a lollipop,” Jack grinned at her, but it fell when he saw her face. Clint's knuckles were in his mouth, muffling his laughter. Skye smacked Clint's shoulder in silent reprimand.

“Mr. Rogers, I apologize for my song choice...” The small pause worried Skye, like she could sense what he was leaving out. She shot him a look, so he sighed and continued. “And I promise I'll stop hitting on you and otherwise being fabulous in your vicinity.”

“Thanks, Face Plant.” Skye said softly, holding out the file to him. “I didn't look at it, I promise.”

“What's with the nickname?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. Steve was flipping through the file, making sure all the papers were accounted for. “All nicknames for Capsicle need to pass through me first.”

“You're not in charge of me,” Skye reminded him. “Now, let my brother go and we can take care of the rest of this.”

“But...Banner, Thor, Pepper...” Jack whimpered.

“They're not here, Jack. Suck it up. You need to go.” Skye replied firmly.

“How do you know they're not here?” Tony asked, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet on the table.

“Banner's somewhere in the middle of no where, India. Thor's on Asgard. Obviously. And Pepper is in D.C. Now, my brother.”

“I can drop him off where we found him,” Clint offered. Skye raised an eyebrow at Jack, who nodded.

“You didn't have it in lock down?” Skye hissed quietly. Jack made a face and shook his head.

“I don't want him to go.” Tony countered. He waved Skye down, forestalling her arguments. “I know, not your deal. You're obviously worried about something...someone? We can take care of that. We are the Avengers, after all. I like your style, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I like your work. Stay? Work for me. We take care of our own.”

Skye and Jack exchanged a look. At first, Tony thought they were impressed by his offer. After all, the Avengers didn't often offer one-on-one protection like this. They were more large scale, end of the world problem solvers. Then Jack snorted.

“I'm going to go. Mr. Barton, I would love a drop off, if you're still offering.”

“You aren't even considering this.” Tony said flatly.

“Nope.” Skye replied, shaking her head.

“You don't believe we can keep him safe? Keep you both safe?” Tasha asked, raising a red eyebrow in disbelief.

“No.” Skye replied, her tone just as flat as Tony's.

“I could train you, to protect your brother.” Tasha offered. Clint raised his eyebrows at that. That was a better deal than Stark's. Tasha didn't take on apprentices.

“Archer Man, if you could take him back, I would appreciate it. I'll start disabling my programs. As soon as I get confirmation from my brother that he's made it back, I'll remove them completely. Scout's honor.”

“You don't just turn down this offer,” Steve commented, his embarrassment finally faded enough that he would participate in the conversation. “Who's going to protect you better?”

“We don't need your help,” Skye replied, working to make her tone polite for Steve. Jack glanced at his sister from the corner of his eye. “Either my brother goes, now...or the deal's off and we get out of here on our own.”

“You can't get out of here on your own,” Tony replied with an eye roll.

“You gave me back my laptop knowing full well you can't prevent me from hacking your system." Skye had her serious face back on. She leaned forward towards Tony, letting him know she wasn't messing around. She saw his expression shift and hurried to placate him. "I'm not trying to be hostile, I'm trying to be transparent. Did you really think I don't have programs made for something like this? I could make Jarvis my bitch.”

“Sir, she is currently in my system, though there have been no changes to my programming.” Jarvis chimed in helpfully.

“Please, I don't want to be the bad guy. Just because I can, doesn't mean I want to. Please.”

“Fine!” Tony groaned. “I can't believe this, but fine. Merida, take Jack back.”

“Thank you,” Skye sighed, jumping from the table. She pulled Tony to his feet and into a hug.

“He doesn't like to be touched,” Steve muttered softly. Skye pulled back quickly.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It's okay, sweetheart.”

“Jack, come here.” Skye flipped open the face of her watch, revealing a microchip and handed it to him. Jack pulled a pin from the strap of his watch and used it to open his watch. Once the chip was hidden in his watch, he looked sadly back up at his sister. Steve and Tasha exchanged a look. Now they knew how she escaped the handcuffs – a mini-toolkit disguised as a watch. She pulled him into a hug and whispered in his ear, using their secret language. Skye gave him a significant look. Jack frowned, processing whatever it was that she told him. The Avengers in the room exchanged a look, wondering what she had told him. Even Steve's super hearing couldn't translate her words. They would have to wait for Jarvis to do it for them.

“I'm not leaving without you.” Jack told his sister, the frown marred by the fear slipping through his expression. 

“You are and you're doing it now.” Skye replied, her tone leaving no room for argument. She shoved him gently towards Clint, then pulled him back and pulled him down to place a kiss on his forehead. “We've delayed too long already. They're probably already looking. Watch the clock. Mr. Barton, he's ready.”

“Skye...” Jack whispered, tears shining in his eyes. Clint and Tasha exchanged a look, wondering what was going on in their lives that they were so scared. Jack's fear was obvious; Skye hid hers better. She needed to be the strong one in their relationship, that much was clear. Jack unwound his scarf, holding it out to his sister. “I expect this back soon.”

“You're going to be fine,” Skye replied softly, taking the scarf and tying it tightly around his neck. Her tone was warm and affectionate, like she was talking to a scared child. “I know it's scary, but you only have to do it alone for a little bit. You're safe in the van. Lock down, yeah? Don't get out if you don't have to. I'll be a few hours behind you, so you're not alone.” Skye whispered, reassuring him. “Go.”

“Mr. Barton?” Jack asked, holding his elbow out. Then he glanced at Steve, flushed, and dropped his elbow. “Sorry, Mr. Rogers.”

“Let's go,” Clint offered, slipping his arm through Jack's anyway. The watery smile Jack gave him told Clint he needed the contact. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve's song is I Touch Myself, by Divinyls.
> 
> Eek - this is going to be wrapping up shortly. Two more chapters to go.


	11. You Can't Go In There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye calls Steve on his shit and helps Tony plug some holes in his system. Tasha scares the hell out of Skye and she runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything, except Jack.

“That wasn't necessary.” Steve commented, twisting the file in his hands.

“You're going to shred your...whatever.” Skye deflected, waving her hand towards his file.

“He was scared and you sent him away.” Steve persisted. Guilt and fear flashed across Skye's face, but she quickly recovered. She grinned at Steve and pushed her hair back over her shoulder.

“Are that insecure in your sexuality that someone like Jack makes you that uncomfortable?” She asked. All of the Avengers knew she was deflecting again, but didn't press it. Obviously, she didn't want to answer. When Steve scowled at her, its effect was dampened by the pink hue of his cheeks.

“I'm not insecure,” Steve informed her. “Things were just different in the 40's.”

“Yeah, well. You're not in the 40's anymore and you made Jack feel like shit. I know he was being ridiculous, but he would have stopped if you had just asked him to.”

“Steve doesn't know how to turn down gay men,” Tasha offered helpfully, looking innocently at Steve. Steve's scowl at her seemed much more sincere.

“It's not any different than turning down a girl. Be direct, don't say 'maybe another time,' or 'It's not you, it's me.'” Skye offered. “A simple, 'I'm flattered, but sorry.' would totally work. It's not that hard. And next time, for the love of God, don't run away. How old are you?”

“You ran away?” Tony snorted, laughing at Steve's face. He looked properly chastised.

“Look, it's done. You're never going to see him again so don't worry about it. Now, let me be so I can be ready to drop all of these programs when Jack is clear.”

“You know you would be safe with me...with us,” Steve told her, surprisingly warm. Skye smiled softly; there was the man she met this morning. She had been hoping he would make a reappearance. She was never going to see him again, so she hoped she could pull off ending this on a good note. Tasha grinned at Tony, letting him know she would tell him later. Tony raised his eyebrow and tilted his head at Skye. Tasha nodded. Tony nodded his head approvingly.

“Sorry Face Plant, but if _I_ can get into the Tower...” Skye trailed off and adjusted her laptop screen. “Tony, I would love to show you how I got into your system. You won't walk away from today empty handed.”

“I'm not worried about me, sweetheart.” Tony informed her. Tasha and Steve were surprised to note that he seemed sincere. Tony was never this nice to people. Ever.

“You should be. Your system has more holes than Swiss cheese.” Skye informed him dryly. Tony laughed and offered her his elbow.

“Let's get you out of here. We can order some food while you work.”

“Okay,” Skye grinned, looping her arm through his. She clutched her laptop to her chest, like she was afraid to lose it. Steve reached for her bag, but she scooped it up too quickly for him to grab. “So, Mr. Manners makes an appearance again.”

“Mr. Manners would have gotten to the bag first,” Tasha snorted, opening the door. Tony escorted Skye to the elevator, already discussing his system. Steve aimed a kick at Tasha as he passed her, which she easily dodged with a laugh.

 

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Hours later, Skye and Tony were still on the couch in the common space, discussing his system. Tony's arms were crossed over his chest as he focused on Skye's computer screen. An empty pizza box sat on the small table in front of them. Finally, Tony rubbed a hand through his hair in frustration. He knew he had holes. He didn't know he had that many holes. Skye offered him good advice. He was honestly surprised at how easily he got along with her; he didn't like very many people...but he liked Skye. He liked her quiet confidence and her sense of ridiculous. Who else would send Iron Man to hump Iron Man's computers?

“Can I have Humping Man?” Tony asked, working his sad eyes. Skye laughed and nodded.

Steve looked up from his book at the far end of the giant couch at her laugh. He smiled softly; committing the sound to memory. She was going to be gone soon, so he couldn't get attached. At least, that's what he kept reminding himself. Still, he couldn't force himself to read somewhere else. He liked being able to glance up and see her. Somewhere along the way, he had dropped his anger towards her. She clearly wasn't a terrorist. She accused her brother of making bad decisions when he was bored, but she was guilty of the same thing. He didn't see Tasha and Clint watching him from the table where they were looking over their mission file – again. They couldn't make a plan without being able to get past the security.

“I would have given you him without the face,” She laughed, pulling up a file. “This email can't be hacked, can't be traced, can't be anything – so don't even try it. It's the only one I use.”

“You know me too well,” Tony muttered, watching her email him the program file. He knew it wasn't the only email she had; that would be stupid. It was her way of saying that was the only safe one. “You could have just dropped it onto my server.”

“I know.” Skye shrugged. She didn't want to admit that she wanted Tony to have a way to get a hold of her. She was grateful when he put the pieces together but didn't say anything. Neither of them were the sentimental type. “Did I miss anything? Brother gone, Humping Man removed, System plugged, Theme music taken back...such a waste. We good?”

“We're good. Take this, it has remote-access to my system. You can plug holes to your heart's content.” Tony said, handing Skye a flash drive as she put her items into her bag. Skye paused and looked up at him.

“Tracer?” She asked softly. Tony nodded.

“Only if it's connected to a power source. If you ever need anything, I mean anything, you just plug it in.”

“Why?” Skye asked, frowning. Tony frowned back, not understanding her confusion.

“You won't let me help you any other way. This way you're in control. If you need help, plug it in. If you want to be left the hell alone, then don't. I want to know you have a backup...in case something happens.”

“Tony...” She whispered, dropping her head to hide her face behind her hair. She shoved the flash drive in her pocket and threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. Tony awkwardly returned the hug, shooting a slightly panicked look at Steve. Steve just smirked and shook his head. Skye pulled back quickly. “Sorry.”

“Did you get enough to eat? We can pack you something? Do you need money or...”

“I'm fine, Dad.” Skye scoffed. Steve was amused to notice Skye and Tony turn beet red. She obviously hadn't meant to say that out loud.

“Skye, I know you're in a hurry to leave...but could you just peek at this system and let me know if there even _is_ a way around it?” Tasha asked, as much to break the awkward moment as to ask for help. “Steve and I can't do this mission without getting past it.”

“Sure,” Skye shrugged, walking to the table. She left her bag on the couch by Tony. Steve frowned at Tony when he shoved a small tracker inside her bag. Tony silenced him with a look; they were both worried about her. “Are you sure I can look at this?”

“If you've hacked Tony, I wouldn't be surprised if you've hacked Shield,” Tasha replied dryly. Skye grinned and remained deliberately silent. She looked at the specs Tasha handed her, nodding and flipping pages.

“They're good.” Skye said non-noncommittally.

“But you're better?” Tasha asked, hopefully. Skye grinned and nodded.

“Pie and cake. Can I ask who they are?” She asked, reaching for the file. Tasha hesitated, but slid it over to her. She could hack her way into answers anyway. Skye glanced at the cover sheet. She pushed back from the table so fast that the chair she was sitting in toppled over loudly. She twisted her body over the back of the chair, landing on her feet even as the chair clattered loudly on the floor. Her face had gone white as a sheet. Everyone was too shocked by her reaction to even comment on the move that allowed her to stay on her feet.

“Skye?” Steve asked, rushing up beside her. Tony was a few steps behind Steve.

“You can't go in there.” Skye whispered shakily.

“Why not?” Tasha asked.

“ _Don't_ go in there. Shit, I need to go. I need to go now.” Skye pushed through Steve and Tony to grab her bag from the couch. She hesitated at the elevator, shifting from foot to foot as she made up her mind. She glanced back at the confused Avengers at the table. “Thank you for the pizza. And I'm sorry, for everything today.”

Then she was gone, zooming down the spine of the Tower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter after this!


	12. Can't Catch a Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tries his hand out at convincing Skye to stay, and the Avengers puzzle over the mystery that the two youth presented to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything, except for Jack.

Steve came to his senses first and bolted for the staircase.

“Jarvis, which floor is she going to?” He asked as he launched himself down the stairs.

“Mr. Rogers, Miss Skye is about to exit on the garage level.”

Steve groaned and pushed himself harder, cursing the elevator for being so fast. He got to the garage just as Skye was about to leave the Tower.

“Skye!” He called, surprising her. She hung her head briefly and sighed.

“What do you want Steve? I need to catch up to Jack before he has a panic attack.”

“Stay. Please. We can go retrieve Jack from wherever. Please, stay.” Skye smiled and that encouraged Steve. He stepped closer and reached for her hand. “Stay with me?”

“Maybe another time,” Skye told him softly, heading back for the door. Steve felt like she just kicked him in the gut; that was exactly what she had told him _not_ to say.

Skye made it all the way back to the door before realizing how cruel that was. She hurried back to Steve, shaking.

“God, I'm sorry. That was mean. I'm never going to see you again Steve. This can't be a thing. I'm flattered, honestly. I'm sorry. I can't do that to you.” She whacked her forehead and reached into her jacket, pulling out Steve's little notebook. “I'm glad you caught me. I almost forgot.”

“Stay.” Steve whispered, taking the notebook from her. He wasn't even mad that she had taken more of his things. She shook her head, actively avoiding looking at him.

“Tony put a tracker on me, huh?” She asked softly, her eyes focused intently on Steve's shirt. She reached up to smooth out a crease, gently stroking his chest.

“In your bag,” Steve nodded. He took her hand in his and was horrified to realize it was shaking. He tried again, in a whisper, "Stay, please."

The pair was silent for a beat, then Skye dropped her bag.

“Fuck it,” Skye muttered.

She reached up and pulled Steve's face down to hers, pressing her lips to his. Steve's surprise faded quickly and he wrapped his arms around her, savoring his victory. He used one arm to pull her up to his level and the other to push hair back from her face. Skye pulled away first, resting her forehead on his. Both were breathing too quickly.

Steve watched Skye, smiling at her. She was going to stay. She was going to stay with him. It would be worth dealing with her brother, if that meant he got to know her better.

Her eyes were still closed, savoring the feeling of Steve's thumb on her cheek. She traced her hands down Steve's face and rubbed her cheek against his softly.

“What's got you so scared?” Steve asked softly. Skye shook her head. “Tell us how to get around the security. We'll all go in. Call Banner back, shout up to Thor...”

Skye chuckled softly at his joke, but pressed a surprisingly wet kiss to his cheek and pulled away from him. Steve slowly set her back on her feet. “I'm sorry about being so crude, when you brought me in. I knew it would make you uncomfortable and I needed your attention off me so I could get out of my cuffs.”

She bent over to grab her bag, quickly finding the tracker that Tony had placed inside. “Bye, Face Plant.”

Skye turned and hurried from the building, leaving a stupified Steve in her wake. He thought she would stay. She said "fuck it." She was  _supposed_ to stay. He thought she was going to stay. He had gotten his hopes up...and now he wasn't sure how to face the crushing disappointment welling up in his chest.

“Bye, Ninja Feet.” Steve replied sadly. He wasn't ready to face the rest of his teammates yet, so he sat down between two of Tony's ridiculously expensive cars and tried to sort out his feelings.

 

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“That guy can't catch a fucking break,” Clint muttered, watching their interaction on the screen with Tasha and Tony.

“He told her about the tracker,” Tony muttered angrily.

“You expected him to lie to her?” Tasha snorted.

“I want to know where she sent her brother.” Clint said suddenly. “Her brother was a nervous wreck. Poor kid. She should have let him stay with her.”

“She was more worried about his safety than hers.” Tony agreed.

“I didn't get the impression that he had great street skills, despite how he held up in interrogation.” Tasha shrugged. “Skye is obviously the strong one.”

“Jarvis, can you pull up the footage from the interrogation room? The second time she used that language?”

“Yes, Sir.” Jarvis replied, pulling up the right footage.

They watched Skye pull Jack to her and whisper.

“Miss Skye: “You know what to do with it. Escape route 4, then 2, then 6. Make sure you're not being followed. Head for location J and wait for me. If I'm not there in five hours, head to location W using route 7. Timer starts when you activate. For the love of God, do not get bored.”

“Why in the hell do they have protocols like that?” Clint asked, rubbing his forehead.

“Now I really want to research this company.” Tasha nodded. “Did you see her face? She stared down four Avengers, but she reacted like that? We need to see what we can find on them.”

“I'm going to go see what I can dig up on those two.” Tony stated, walking away. "Then I'll look into Centipede and why she's so scared of them."

A message popped up on the screen just before he left the room.

“Tony,” Clint called. Tony turned back and cursed. The video was erased, along with all the footage from the day.

 

**Sorry. No more poking, I promise.**

**S**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Keep your eye out for "I'm Not in the Position to Ask for Favors, But...", the sequel to this story. I like to finish most of the story before posting, but you'll see it soon. I'm still tinkering around with it a little bit.  
> You'll find out who Skye and Jack are so afraid of, and the Avengers pull out the muscle to do Skye a favor.
> 
> I would like to thank everyone for their kudos and comments. This is the first work I've felt comfortable enough to publish, and your support is encouraging and appreciated.


End file.
